While there have been many proposed methods for mounting solar panels on a roof, there does not appear to be any solar panel mounting system in which the solar panels themselves are assembled in a manner which allows their use as a roof structure or as part of a roof structure. Prior art designs in this area have required pre-existing roof structures for the mounting of solar panels onto established surfaces and/or decking material.
It is noted also that, in many of the existing installation techniques, individual solar panels are lifted into place. In many such designs the panels are individually attached to the roof structure and provide absolutely no structural integrity or reinforcement. The handling of individual panels is difficult and time-consuming particularly in that the installers are working in an elevated environment often on a structure having a significant slope, the slope being either required or desired in order to maximize insolation.
Accordingly, it is seen that it is desired to employ solar panels as part of a roof structure (again, for emphasis, in contrast to installation on an existing roof). It is desirable that the solar panels be assembled in a modular structure which may be lifted as a single unit for installation. Accordingly, it is desirable that the modular structure comprising several solar panels exhibit sufficient rigidity for being lifted into place as a single unit. However, one of the significant considerations that one encounters when one attempts to employ solar panels as a roof structure is that the solar panels must now perform the functions that are normally assigned to the roof itself. Most particularly, a completed solar panel installation should be capable of providing water drainage. Moreover, water drainage systems deployed should address the problem of any gaps that exist between panels in either the east-west or the north south directions. See the discussion below for the intended meaning of these directions. Desired water drainage systems should also address the fact that solar panel installations are intended for exterior, all weather, multi-decade functioning.
It should be noted, however, that while the solar panel assemblies of the present invention are particularly designed and intended for use as an integral part of a roof structure, the solar panel assemblies described herein are also deployable on existing roof structures with only a slight modification.
It is useful at this point to consider some of the descriptive nomenclature that is used in the field of solar energy installation. More particularly, as used in the present invention, the term “solar panel” refers to either a panel designed to provide electrical energy (photovoltaic panels) or to provide thermal energy (solar thermal panels). While the present invention has been designed with photovoltaic panels in mind, it is equally applicable to systems and methods for installing many types of solar thermal panels.
Additionally, it is noted that, for purposes of efficiency, solar panels of either variety are desirably oriented in a southerly direction. While the present invention is completely usable with square solar panels, it is noted that most solar panels produced exhibit a certain aspect ratio. That is, most solar panels have a length to width ratio other than 1. This provides such panels with the option of being mounted in either a so-called “portrait” or so-called “landscape” orientation. As a result, most installations of solar panels result in their longer edges being roughly aligned in a north to south direction. The other edges are naturally oriented in a roughly east to west direction. Accordingly, the present application is seen to refer to these edges as being the north-south edge or the east-west edge. These designations are solely for convenience and for more easily relating the use of the present invention to the more standard configurations of solar panel installation. The use of these terms is not in any way intended to suggest that the solar panels employed in the present invention are necessarily required to face in any particular direction or that they be mounted in either a portrait or landscape orientation. Reference to east-west and north-south directions is based on the usually desired arrangement in which south facing arrays are employed, thus making east-west seams the ones that one are typically described as being horizontal. Clearly, in the southern hemisphere, the generally desired orientation is to the north.
US patent application 2001/0302587 submitted by McClellan et al. and filed on Jun. 10, 2010 also describes a system for mounting solar panels in a manner which is intended to address the problem of water drainage. It is noted in that this configuration requires the prior placement of their north to south channels. This is a significant limitation in that it means that their solar panels must be lifted into place individually. There is also a significant limitation in that their north to south channels comprise a single integral structure. From one perspective, it can be said that, while this particular patent application employs a U-shaped channel, the double J-shaped configuration of the present invention effectively comprises a W-shaped channel. It would also appear that, in this patent application, sealing against water is provided above the plane of the solar panels. Moreover, it is noted that their east-west drainage pan does not in any way function as a clip nor is it seen to provide any structural connection (“The east-west gutter system is strictly in place to catch any rainwater.”). It is also noted that this particular patent application attaches solar panels to their channels in a manner which does not in any way take advantage of solar panels having inwardly disposed flanges extending from their frames on their undersides. In terms of manufacturing, it is also noted that the system described in this patent application requires the utilization of a relatively bulky, expensive piece of extruded aluminum.
From the above, it is therefore seen that there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein and above.